Rob Roy (1995) on Netflix
Scotland, 1713. Rob Roy MacGregor borrows a thousand pounds from the Marquess of Montrose to buy cattle for his hungry clan. When the money goes missing, the debt falls on him.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb6.9/1049,941 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes73%
Trailer
Plot summary
In the Scottish Highlands of 1713, Rob Roy MacGregor of Clan MacGregor keeps the Lowland gentry's herds safe from rustlers, yet he can barely feed his own people. He borrows a thousand pounds from James Graham, the Marquess of Montrose, to set himself up in the cattle trade. Montrose's household includes Archibald Cunningham, an anglicized relative whose haughty manner draws wagers from the Marquess on his sword contests. When the money goes missing, MacGregor asks Montrose for time to find it. Montrose proposes to clear the debt in exchange for testimony that would falsely name his rival, John Campbell, the Duke of Argyll, a Jacobite. MacGregor turns him down, and Montrose orders him imprisoned until the debt is repaid. MacGregor must leave his wife Mary and their children.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Rob Roy (1995)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The character of Cunningham is fictional but based on Henry Cunningham Esq. of Boquhan, described by Sir Walter Scott as a "daring character with an affectation of delicacy of address and manners amounting to foppery", who nonetheless seized a sword and drove the outlaw off the field.
- Ebert was impressed by the climactic sword fight, choreographed by fight director William Hobbs, calling it "one of the great action sequences in movie history", while Gene Siskel agreed and called it the "best sword fight in motion picture history".
- The backs of the grenadiers' mitre caps in the film clearly show the number 49, for the 49th Regiment of Foot, yet regiments were not numbered until 1751 and that regiment was only raised in 1743, long after the story described.
- The film was shot entirely on location in Scotland, much of it in parts of the Highlands so remote that they had to be reached by helicopter.
- According to screenwriter Alan Sharp, Rob Roy was conceived as a Western, with the shape of that genre set instead in the Scottish Highlands.
- Tim Roth won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Archibald Cunningham.
